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It's More Fun in the Philippines: Bataan - Day 2 at the Dambana ng Kagitingan

Sunday, August 19, 2012 Category : , , , 0




   
     For our second day in Bataan, my family and I went to see the 00KM marker of the Bataan Death March, which is located nearby the NPC Village, before heading to the Dambana ng Kagitingan.  I wanted my nephews and nieces to see the marker for their Philippine history studies.  And seeing the marker made me sad.  Thousands of people died during the Death March so remembering the hardships of those involved was really something.






   
     Then we're off  to Mt. Samat!  Remember, it was a stormy day but since it was a long weekend, like the one we have now, there were still a lot of people going to the mountain.  The teens and some mid-20s peeps were hiking toward the Dambana ng Kagitingan but every now and then, heavy rains would disrupt their journey.  Well, there are no public transportation to the Dambana ng Kagitingan so its either hiking or driving your private car.  But man, Mt. Samat is dense, a little eerie.  Nonetheless, the roads are in good condition, except for some fallen leaves and branches here and there.




     Finally, we reached the Dambana ng Kagitingan!  There's a minimal entrance fee to be paid and you'll be given tickets with the AFP logo if I am  not mistaken.  Kids and senior citizens are discounted, just don't know how much.  I just hope that the tickets will bear some mark that it is for the Dambana ng Kagitingan, you know, not just a generic paper ticket because tickets are souvenirs, too.  Oh, well, that is what you get for paying a minimal sum to enjoy a historic site.  


The weather was really wonky.  
See the thick clouds obscuring the top of the cross.


 And this is a colossal marble edifice.  
The stained glass is just divine.




     To get into the cross itself, you may use the stone-paved, ascending zig-zag walkway, or better yet, get your car and drive up on the mountain.  It is, of course, I've said, the better option.  Why?  Well, I'm semi-afraid of heights so the only way to go down, if you didn't bring your car, is through the stone-paved, zigzag walkway.  It's slippery when wet, and if you're a klutz like me, you'll probably have a hard time descending.


     Now, to get inside the cross, you have to ride a very small and narrow elevator.  Since it was a holiday, there were a lot of tourists and the storm didn't deter any of us to visit the Dambana ng Kagitingan.  Lots of tourists mean you have to wait for your turn to use the elevator and go up to the viewing area which is the horizontal part of the cross.  It couldn't accommodate much, the elevator and the viewing area both.  In our case, we didn't wait that long.  And we learned the reason why once we got to the viewing area.  The winds were freaking scary!  They were whistling!  And you'll feel the cross swaying!  It was pretty fun, though, to have the winds and drizzle slap on your face.  And the view is amazing, and so is the viewing deck itself!  You're literally in the clouds, too!  Anyway, there's nothing to worry about since there are guides and some will go up and down with the tourists in the elevator in case it halts for whatever reason.


The viewing area has a goth-like, vampire's lair vibe.


The best way to scare yourself, err, I mean, to listen to the howling of the winds?
Open all the windows, of course, and sway with the force!



This is what the earth looks like from up above the clouds. 
I uttered a short thanks to the Lord for this magnificent view.
And I even said to myself that Bataan is so gorgeous that I wouldn't mind living there.



No, this isn't from a horror movie.
I'm just messing up your mind and made it look creepy.
If the elevator bogs down, which happens at times, this is your way up and down.
It'll be your escape route, too. 


Really, the cross is so imposing and amazing.
This is probably the best photo I took of anything, ever.



          If you want to know more about the Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor), you may visit the official website of the Province of Bataan, here:

  http://www.bataan.gov.ph/index.php/DAMBANA-NG-KAGITINGAN.html

It's More Fun in the Philippines: Bataan - Day 1 at the Westnuk Beach Cove

Wednesday, June 13, 2012 Category : , , , , , 0


Westnuk Beach Cove on a stormy afternoon.



     Our accommodations at the NPC Village includes a free day pass to the Westnuk Beach Cove.  It is located inside the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in Morong.  Before, you cannot go to the Westnuk Beach unless you know someone from the National Power Corporation who could accommodate you as a guest.  But not anymore!  It is now open to the public, but for a minimal fee.  If I'm not mistaken, entrance for day-trippers is around Php 130.00 per person, more or less, with discount for government employees..

     Now that it is accessible to the general public, the secret of its beauty is now out!  And it says so in its website:

Hidden away in the heart of Morong, Bataan, Westnuk Beach Resort is the perfect getaway for weary travelers looking to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. Our resort is only a two and a half hour drive from Manila. Getting there is an experience in itself as the roads you travel are filled with scenic views of where the mountains and the sea meet.
Even in its simplicity, Westnuk Beach Resort features comfortable accommodations with scenic ocean views. We cater to friends, families, and even companies seeking to have fun under the sun. For larger groups and company outings we can accommodate over five hundred people at our hotel at NPC Resort Village, a twenty minute ride via our shuttle service. That’s two venues to experience in one convenient package.
Be surrounded by nature unspoiled by man. When you’re not swimming, facilities for basketball, beach volleyball and karaoke are available for you to enjoy. Come and enjoy one of the Philippines most beautiful and unspoiled beaches for a holiday you’ll never forget.

     You know what?  NPC got it right.  The roads of Bataan to Westnuk do offer scenic views and are well-maintained; no traffic, too.  And the one from NPC Village to Westnuk Beach showcases rows of fields and clean creeks or streams.  It's very calming.

     It is a treat to go inside the BNPP and to see the Plant itself.  And then, you'll see the cove and it looks amazing.  However, since there was a storm when we were there, we didn't thoroughly enjoy the beach.   At first, the weather seemed fine: the sky was overcast, but no rain.  Thus, we were able to wade in the water but not for long.  Well, the winds started to get crazy and it affected the waves.  Good thing it was a cove so the waves were not intimidating.  Then, the skies suddenly grew darker and darker.  And it started to rain hard.



No rain yet.

But the waves came in succession,turning sea water to foam/bubble.



Heavy rain started to pour, and the waves got a little bigger.


See the rocks in the background shrouded by the rain.


     The Westnuk Beach also offers overnight accommodations, but it is almost always full.  Their ocean-view two-storey guest pavillion has four air-conditioned rooms and three regular rooms able to accommodate a total of forty-two guests.   If you can't get a reservation at the beach, the NPC Village and the NPC Hotel, 15-20 minutes away by car, are the alternatives.



It's More Fun in the Philippines: Bataan - Day 1 at the NPC Nuclear Power Village

Saturday, June 9, 2012 Category : , , , , 0




     Since I am just a short post away from wrapping up my Macau travel adventures, I'm going to blog about my Bataan adventures since I've been itching to do it for a long time already.

     If you remember, last August 2011, the Philippines had a rather extra long weekend because of several holidays.  So, I was so flustered thinking about being stuck at home.  I wanted to go to Baguio but my reservation was put on-hold and when it was finally okay, it was already too late to go.  Anyway, my family and I ended up staying at the National Power Corporation's Nuclear Power Village in Bagac, Bataan.

     It was my third time to set foot in Bataan.  The first one was when I was in college; the second one was for a 2-day work-related matter. But the road we took going to Bagac was different from the one I used before, so it was like my first time going to Bataan.

     Anyway, I liked Bataan.  In fairness, the roads are wide and paved; there are a lot of trees and really, nature still abounds.  However, there are not too many vehicles on the road and Bagac is like 2 to 2 1/2 hours away from Manila.

     To reach the NPC Village, which is now open to the public for rentals of the villas, is really easy.  It's after the Philippine-Japanese Friendship Tower, turn right from the gas station and you're there.

The Philippine-Japanese Friendship Tower


    The Village is past its glory days.  Really.  The houses are sad looking and old, but for its price, its okay.    I think I paid around Php 3,000  with discount, for 2 days and 1 night.  However, if you need to use a ref, the tv or a gas burner, you'd have to rent it for a fee.  I forgot how much, though. Anyway, they have a maximum number of guests allowed per house but don't worry, they won't make a head count.  We were almost 20 in our group although the allowable people per house is just 10-12.  We didn't pay extra.  If you prefer, they also have a small hotel.

It's easy to know that this place has once been grand.  See the helipad in front of the hotel.


     Most of the amenities are non-operational.  But at least, the pool remains.


But there's a fire station inside!  How cool is that?


     There are 4 huge rooms (or 5?).  We all fit in. I requested for extra sheets and pillows and they didn't charge me for those.

 These are the bungalows.  So huge.  Ours is across this one, but smaller.



These are the abandoned bungalows.


      And bring your own food.  It's difficult to find a place to eat, even at the "bayan."

     There's a good thing about the NPC Village.  It comes with free entrance to the West Nuk Beach at the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.  They also have lodgings at the Beach but it was fully booked so we had to settle with the village.  The catch: it's about 15-25 minutes by car from the Village.  But the trip is all worth it, I promise.

     The NPC Village also has a swimming pool; old but clean and decent, and the compound is huge and good for a stroll or for jogging.  And, there are a lot of guava trees.  We just picked from the trees, with blessings from the guard (he says it'll just get rotten anyway), and the guavas we got were so delicious! Juicy and ripe!  Yum.  We even got to take home some.

The guavas either just fall on the ground or get eaten by birds, like this one.


     And, if you don't know it, you can view from the Village, the famous Las Casas Pilipinas, a resort nearby which painstakingly restored, piece by piece, some of the historic houses, mansions and even school buildings, from around Luzon.  

 Las Casas Filipinas as seen from the NPC Village.


     Finally, I must say that the views here are gorgeous.  See the photo below where the road seems to meet the sea and the skies.
     

It's More Fun in the Philippines - Blog Series

Monday, April 30, 2012 Category : , , , , 0


Cagsawa Ruins and Mt. Mayon, Bicol



     Although I have reservations about the Philippines' tourism slogan, I can do nothing about it.  Might as well find something useful about it.  So, I've entitled my Philippine travel adventure series, "It's More Fun in the Philippines."  

     Lately, I've been going around the country one tourist destination at a time.  I'll start blogging my adventures after wrapping up my Hong Kong and Macau adventures, but here's a sneak peek:


West Nuk Beach, Bataan


Boracay, Aklan


Caramoan, Camarines Sur


Pico de Loro, Nasugbu, Batangas


Punta Fuego, Nasugbu, Batangas

Macau Adventures: Day 3 - Ferry to Macau

Sunday, April 29, 2012 Category : , , , , 0




Screen cap of Google Map's street view of China Hong Kong City Building



     Yes, my friends and I decided to have an Amazing Race across China and its special administrative regions (SARs).  We visited, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macau in our 4d3n tour last February.  It's a very crazy idea. I don't encourage anyone to do the same, especially for first-time travelers to those places.

     Throwing caution to the wind, we spent a night in Macau just to be able to say that we've been there.  Well, I've been there before, but the rest, except for one, have never been to HK, China and Macau.  

     So, from our hotel, we took a shuttle going to TST.  The stop was very near the China Ferry Terminal.  It's very easy to find.  Just go inside China Hong Kong City,where the huge Esprit outlet store is located at the ground floor.  Refer to the photo I screencapped from Google Maps.  Entrance is beside Esprit, just go up to the short escalators until you reach the third floor, I think, where the booking offices are located.  From there, you can take your pick of ferry service depending on the time you want to depart. Most services leave even every 30 minutes, except for Cotai Jet which departs late in the afternoon if I remember correctly.  This ferry station also services passengers to Mainland China such as Zhuhai.

This is the floor where the ticketing offices are located. 


Departure Area at the China Ferry Terminal Station


     After buying tickets and waiting for our ferry to depart, we ate lunch at Cafe de Coral, a fast food chain in Hong Kong which offers cheap meals, of course by Hong Kong standards.  The food there is quite tasty and they change their menus depending on the time.  After 2 p.m., no more lunch sets, for example.  Be sure to state clearly your choice of set meal and which beverage you want since not all cashiers understand English well.  You can point to the menu on the wall, then say if you want milk tea, or if you want cola (additional price).  You'll be given a printed receipt plus an order slip which you'll have to hand over to a staff at  a separate counter where roasted ducks are hung.  Wait for your order and hope that the cashier and helper got your orders right.


Well, what do you know?  Look at how dirty my cup was.  
Probably, the tea spilled, thus, there were droplets on my cup.
It was just surprising that the staff were unconcerned about the messy cup and did not even bother to replace it.   


This was my lunch.  It was an oven-baked pork chop with pineapples and sauce poured over the rice.
There was too much sauce. 



     We picked First Ferry/Turbo Jet as our service provider.  It was the same company we used when I went to Macau in 2009.  It leaves every 30 minutes from 7am to 10:30 pm everyday. Makes you wonder how many gamblers, tourists, businessmen and locals shuffle to and from Macau each day.  Hmm.

     Anyway, I think we paid around HKD 150+ per person since it was a weekend.  But the ferry was not packed and it was a pleasant ride so we were able to take a nap.  About an hour later, we reached Macau! Yay!

      Once in Macau, and after passing through the immigration, we took the underpass going to the other side of the street to catch a free shuttle bus to our hotel, the Venetian.



The Venetian Hotel's Mascot was at the Ferry Terminal to welcome Macau's visitors!  
So cute!




The Free Shuttle to Venetian.

Hong Kong Adventures 2012 Day 2: At the Lohu Border

Friday, April 13, 2012 Category : , , 0




     Our second day in HK was a little warmer at 17-18C.  Great!  I still had to wear tights since I was wearing a mini skirt which I bought, and used, too in Singapore.  In fact, I use that Annie skirt from Cotton On a lot.  I think it makes my stumpy legs look loads better.

     Anyway, we had to join a half day city tour so we'd get a free tour to Shenzhen, China, in the afternoon.  Our half-day tour was so boring.  We only went to a part of the Avenue of Stars, same place we went to last year, then nothing else.  Except for JC jewelry factory, again.  We didn't mind the shortened trip since we wanted to go Shenzhen earlier than scheduled.

Avenue of Stars



   I believe this is a ferry to Macau. 



    So, we're off to Shenzhen.  Only this time, we were given return-trip tickets.  Yay!

     The train ride to the Lohu border was uneventful, but the train was packed.  I was standing for most of the ride.  Anyway, we had to stop for a while after reaching Lohu and bought some drinks, breads and sandwiches and 2 packs of Yakult.  The HK Yakult is bigger than our Yakult but tastes the same, of course.

     You should know that Lohu is a very busy station as it is the border for HK and Shenzhen, China.  Of course, there are a lot of people rushing and it can be very intimidating.  So, be cautious and try not to slam into someone.



    If there is one advice everyone should follow going to Shenzhen is this:  GO STRAIGHT TO THE CHINA IMMIGRATION AREA AND NEVER TURN BACK ONCE YOU GET TO THIS PART.



     Why?  Well, all people are moving towards the China Immigration right after having their passports stamped by the HK Immigration and if you turn back, the security will chase after you.  You'll be suspected of having illegally entered the Hong Kong part of immigration, that is why.  We saw a lady, in her 20s walking against the flow and she was shouted at, chased and accosted by the security and was brought to a holding area.  Let it be a lesson for all.



     







Hong Kong Adventures 2012: Day 1 - The Rush for Warmth

Saturday, March 10, 2012 Category : , , , 0


It was this foggy when we arrived at the HKIA.  
Yes, it was cold.



     I went to Hong Kong for the third time earlier this month.  I travelled with my friends this time around.  We didn't get to do anything, except for shopping on the first day for warmer clothes and comfortable shoes, and going to Disneyland.  But since it was almost closing time, we just took photos outside the park.

    Why did we need to buy warmer clothes in Hong Kong on our first day?  You see, my friends were not appropriately dressed for the weather even though they knew that it was going to be cold in Hong Kong.  It was around 15C when we got to Hong Kong but most of my friends were wearing summer clothes; one was even wearing flip flops!  When we were on the plane,we were amused with our co-passengers on full winter gear.  One friend quipped, "Exag[gerated]! May fur-fur pa!"  I laughed along with them since I also thought that bubble jackets weren't necessary.  But when we boarded down the plane, guess who the laughing stock was.  Yup, us!

It was so foggy HK was barely visible.
In fact, we only saw the harbor when we were this close already.


    It got worse when we arrived at Hong Kong International Airport's immigration.  We were surrounded by throngs of travellers from Japan, and possibly, Korea, too, (let's just say East Asians to be sure).  And they were all dressed to impress, in full winter garb!  My friend, as I said, was wearing flip flops, and her toes were turning blue from the cold..  My other friends were wearing high-heeled sandals and stilettos, the ones you wear to the office.  One does not have a jacket on, just a thin blouse, but at least they're wearing pants because my flip flops loving friend was just wearing leggings.  Imagine the bewilderment of the people queued at the immigration.  You can clearly see the shock on their faces, even consternation from some.  All of them were looking at our footwear.  Guess, they were thinking how stupid we were.  

    I came almost adequately prepared; I was even appropriately dressed. But I was really hesitant to wear my rubber shoes because while it provides comfort, it isn't fashionable.  I was aware that people in Hong Kong, locals and travellers alike, are generally well-dressed.  You can even say fashion-conscious.  I wanted to look the part of a posh traveller but I did not want to bring my winter dress coat since it's too heavy.  When I got to see those travellers at the immigration, I wished I brought it along since most were wearing their most fashionable coats, boots, etc.

     Anyway, we rode our coach service going to our hotel and we rested for an hour or two before we headed out to shop.  We went to Tsim Sa Tsui to buy warmer clothes at H&M.  I just bought some bonnets on sale (HKD 10 a piece) and some flats to go with my new shoulder bag I bought back in the Philippines.  My friends rushed to look for winter clothes and shoes but only one did buy a more comfortable footwear.  The rest skimped on spending and braved the cold weather.  One purposely didn't buy anything because she said she had thermal underneath.  But she was shivering nonetheless and had to wash it everyday as she just had one thermal with her.  I even had her use my newly bought flats since she couldn't walk anymore by night time; she was wearing stilettos.

Is this the Silvermine Beach?  
The windows of our coach service is kinda filthy, hence the brown streaks.


I had to tweak the photos to get rid of the fog, but the color of the sea is real. 
So pretty!

K-11 Mall is very near Mirador Mansion, just beside Holiday Inn if I remember correctly.

This dude was sleeping at the open-space area at K-11 Mall.



 Tsim Sha Tsui


     Then we went to Mongkok and browsed the camera shops there and ate our super late lunch/early dinner at Cafe de Coral, a food chain I see almost everywhere in Hong Kong.  As we squandered our time shopping, we barely had time to go to Disneyland so we just took photos outside.  We were supposed to watch the fireworks but it was damn cold and we were all shivering. I was shivering the least.  My friends quipped that they now know how Nelo felt as he dies in the snow with Patrasche. And it was only about 13C!  Can I just say that every time I remember the anime "My Patrasche" tears well-up in my eyes?  Damn.

 Sunny Bay.  All Disney!





Sorry for the crappy night shots.
I didn't know I could adjust the ISO.


     To give ourselves another chance to buy warmer clothes, we went to City Gate.  But no luck!  We headed back to Panda Hotel via cab.  It cost HKD 170.00 or thereabouts from City Gate including toll fare.  And there goes our first day in Hong Kong!


    

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